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Saudi Arabia’s Dana Al Alami Jewelry has partnered with Greenlab, an Indian manufacturer of precious stones, in a $120 million deal to tap into the lab-grown diamond industry in the kingdom.
The deal, which was signed at the ongoing Future Investment Initiative (FII) summit in Riyadh, will see the two entities ‘jointly commit sizeable investment to take advantage of the huge opportunities in the Saudi market,’ according to a statement issued on Dana Al Alami’s official social media accounts.
Founder Dana Al Alami’s jewellery brand has landed her on Forbes 2020 list of Saudi Arabia’s 10 most successful businesswomen, with the entrepreneur landing on the fifth spot.
Meanwhile, Greenlab is a producer of lab-grown diamonds in India and known for selling a 7.5-carat stone to the country’s government, that was later presented by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to US First Lady Jill Biden during a state visit.
The market for lab-grown diamonds has witnessed robust growth in recent years with the industry reaching a global retail sales value of $12.24 billion in 2022, according to last month’s trade report by Dubai-based free zone DMCC.
Touted as ‘fastest-growing segment within the jewellery sector’, the Coming of Age – The Future of Lab Grown Diamonds report found Dubai one of the key players in fuelling this demand. Findings in the report saw trade in this sector grow by more than 125% in the emirate during 2022 with total imports and exports of approximately $1.5 billion.
“The lab-grown diamonds industry is navigating a phase of transition, adapting to slower growth, disruption and market shifts in the United States, while exploring untapped markets like China, Europe, India and the Middle East. With the rise of the LGD industry symbolising the intersection of technology and trade, the potential it holds is monumental,” Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DMCC, said at the time.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)
